1. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
• Parliament’s committee on estimates has in its latest report called for re-formulation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), seeking transparency in its working and asking for more financial allocations to attract increasing participation from farmers.
• The committee has observed that there are fundamental flaws in the design of the scheme that renders it rather ineffective.
• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the flagship programme launched with much fanfare in 2016, has run into rough weather. With both the area covered and the number of enrolled farmers declining, the country’s premium crop insurance scheme is certainly in need of an overhaul.
• In April, 2016, the government of India had launched Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) after rolling back the earlier insurance schemes viz. National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS), Weather-based Crop Insurance scheme and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS).
• Premium: It envisages a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for Kharif crops, and 1.5% for Rabi crops. The premium for annual commercial and horticultural crops will be 5%.
• Providing financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/damage arising out of unforeseen events.
• Stabilizing the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.
• Encouraging farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.
• Ensuring flow of credit to the agriculture sector which contributes to food security, crop diversification and enhancing growth and competitiveness of agriculture sector besides protecting farmers from production risks.
2. Cabinet approves re-promulgation of triple talaq ordinance
• The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to re-promulgate the ordinance making instant triple talaq a criminal offence.
• The ordinance makes all declarations of instant triple talaq void and illegal and the practice a punishable offence with imprisonment of three years.
• The Cabinet also gave its nod to re-issue an ordinance to allow a Committee to run the Medical Council of India.
3. SC to hear Ayodhya land dispute case on Jan 29
• Supreme Court has fixed hearing in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land title dispute case for 29th of this month.
• The Constituition Bench hearing the case is to be reconstituted after Justice UU Lalit recused himself from the case.
• Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for a Muslim party, told the bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi that Justice Lalit appeared for former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh in 1994.
• Though Dhavan said he was not seeking Justice Lalit`s recusal, the judge opted out of the hearing in the matter. Other members of the bench comprised Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices SA Bobde, NV Ramana, and DY Chandrachud.
• Dhavan also drew the attention of the bench to the fact that the matter was earlier fixed for hearing before a three-judge bench but the CJI took a decision to list it before a five-judge Constitution Bench.
• The CJI said in view of the facts and circumstances of the matter and the voluminous records pertaining to it, this was a fit case for constituting a five-judge bench.
• As many as 14 appeals have been filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgement. The High Court had ordered that the 2.77 acre land be partitioned equally among the three parties - the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. Various Hindutva organisations have been demanding an ordinance on early construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had suggested that any decision on an ordinance on Ram temple in Ayodhya can happen only after the completion of the judicial process.
4. Selection Committee chaired by PM removes Alok Verma as CBI Chief
• CBI Director Alok Verma, who was reinstated to the post by the Supreme Court, has been transferred.
• The Selection Committee, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which appoints the CBI chief took the decision.
• The three-member committee also comprises Leader of the single largest Opposition party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi`s nominee, Justice A K Sikri.
• the committee found Alok Verma`s continuance in the post detrimental to institutional integrity. The decision was taken by a majority with Mallikarjun Kharge opposing the move.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet said M Nageshwar Rao, presently Additional Director, CBI will look after the duties of the Director.
• Alok Verma was sent on forced leave by the government in a late-night order on 28th October last year in the wake of a feud between him and his deputy Special Director Rakesh Asthana. Later, he challenged the order in the Supreme Court which reinstated him, quashing the government order.
5. DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2018
• The Lok Sabha has passed the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2018that allows regulated use of DNA technology to establish the identity of certain defined categories of persons, including offenders, suspects, and undertrials.
• The utility of DNA based technologies for solving crimes, and to identify missing persons, is well recognized across the world. Therefore, the new bill aims to expand the application of DNA-based forensic technologies to support and strengthen the justice delivery system of the country.
• As per the Bill, national and regional DNA data banks will be set up for maintaining a national database for identification of victims, suspects in cases, undertrials, missing persons and unidentified human remains.
• Punishment: According to it, those leaking the DNA profile information to people or entities who are not entitled to have it, will be punished with a jail term of up to three years and a fine of up to Rs. 1 lakh. Similar, punishment has also been provided for those who seek the information on DNA profiles illegally.
• Usage: As per the bill, all DNA data, including DNA profiles, DNA samples and records, will only be used for identification of the person and not for “any other purpose”.
• The bill’s provisions will enable the cross-matching between persons who have been reported missing on the one hand and unidentified dead bodies found in various parts of the country on the other, and also for establishing the identity of victims in mass disasters.
• The Bill establishes a DNA Regulatory Board to accredit the DNA laboratories that analyse DNA samples to establish the identity of an individual.
6. The New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill, 2018
• The Lok Sabha has passed the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill to set up a revamped International Arbitration Centre at New Delhi with an aim to make India the hub of arbitration.
Key features of the Bill include:
• New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (NDIAC): The Bill seeks to provide for the establishment of the NDIAC to conduct arbitration, mediation, and conciliation proceedings. The Bill declares the NDIAC as an institution of national importance.
• International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR): The ICADR is a registered society to promote the resolution of disputes through alternative dispute resolution methods (such as arbitration and mediation). The Bill seeks to transfer the existing ICADR to the central government.
• Composition: Under the Bill, the NDIAC will consist of seven members including: (i) a Chairperson who may be a Judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court, or an eminent person with special knowledge and experience in the conduct or administration of arbitration; (ii) two eminent persons having substantial knowledge and experience in institutional arbitration; (iii) three ex-officio members, including a nominee from the Ministry of Finance and a Chief Executive Officer (responsible for the day-to-day administration of the NDIAC); and (iv) a representative from a recognised body of commerce and industry, appointed as a part-time member, on a rotational basis.
• Term and superannuation: The members of NDIAC will hold office for three years and will be eligible for re-appointment. The retirement age for the Chairperson is 70 years and other members is 67 years.
• Objectives and functions of the NDIAC: The key objectives of the NDIAC include (i) promoting research, providing training and organising conferences and seminars in alternative dispute resolution matters; (ii) providing facilities and administrative assistance for the conduct of arbitration, mediation and conciliation proceedings; (iii) maintaining a panel of accredited professionals to conduct arbitration, mediation and conciliation proceedings. Key functions of the NDIAC will include: (i) facilitating conduct of arbitration and conciliation in a professional, timely and cost-effective manner; and (ii) promoting studies in the field of alternative dispute resolution.
• Finance and audit: The NDIAC will be required to maintain a fund which will be credited with grants received from the central government, fees collected for its activities, and other sources. The accounts of the NDIAC will be audited and certified by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.
• Institutional support: The Bill specifies that the NDIAC will establish a Chamber of Arbitration which will maintain a permanent panel of arbitrators. Further, the NDIAC may also establish an Arbitration Academy for training arbitrators and conducting research in the area of alternative dispute resolution. The NDIAC may also constitute other committees to administer its functions.
7. India takes over operations of Chabahar port in Iran
• India has taken over operations of the strategic Chabahar port in the Sistan-Balochistan province of Iran`s southern coast.
• This is the first time India will be operating a port outside its territory. The Shipping Ministry in a statement in New Delhi said that the Government of India took over the operations of a part of Shahid Beheshti Port, Chabahar, in Iran during the Chabahar Trilateral Agreement meeting held there on December 24, 2018.
• The Chabahar port in the Sistan-Balochistan province in the energy-rich nation`s southern coast is easily accessible from India`s western coast and is increasingly seen as a counter to Pakistan`s Gwadar Port located at distance of around 80 km from Chabahar.
• The Chabahar port is being considered as a gateway to golden opportunities for trade by India, Iran and Afghanistan with central Asian countries, besides ramping up trade among the three countries in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi.
8. National Policy on Domestic Workers
• In a bid to give recognition to domestic workers besides making them eligible for minimum wages, social security and safe working conditions, labour ministry is drafting the national policy.
• There is a need for the policy due to the following reasons:
• Employer-dominated, domestic work industry is characterised by low, stagnant wage rates. Wages are particularly low for Bengali and Adivasi workers.
• Irregular payment of wages by employer.
• Extraction of more work than agreed upon at the start of employment.
• Practice of arbitrarily reducing wages.
• Private power of regulation enjoyed by the employer.
• Private nature of regulation has allowed the employer to exercise quasi-magisterial powers over the domestic worker in India.
• Workers’ attempts to renegotiate their terms of work or to leave such employment are outbid by verbal, and often, physical assaults by employers.
• Domestic workers are on an almost absolute risk of unemployment or criminalisation when they try to obtain their dues.
• Its aim is to protect the domestic workers from abuse, harassment, violence and guarantee them rights in the matter of social security and minimum wages. The policy also includes social security cover and provisions against sexual harassment and bonded labour.
• It is a national policy for all kinds of household helps, under which payment of wages will be made to the board under fixed slab rates and the central board/trust will be managed by all stakeholders.
• The policy intends to set up an institutional mechanism to social security cover, fair terms of employment, grievance redressal and dispute resolution. It provides for recognising domestic workers as a worker with the right to register themselves with state labour department or any other suitable mechanism.
• The policy will also promote the rights for them to organise and form their own unions/associations and affiliate with other unions/associations. It will also provide for model contract of employment with well-defined period of work and rest.
• It also aims to regulate the recruitment and placement agencies by respective governments through formulation of a policy. It will also have a tripartite implementation committee at centre, state and district levels.
• It will also clearly define various terms such as part time workers, full time workers, live in workers, employers and private placement agencies.
9. Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018
• The Lok Sabha has passed the Personal Laws (Amendment Bill), 2018, which seeks to remove leprosy as a ground for divorce. Leprosy is being removed as a ground for divorce as it is now a curable disease as against the earlier notion of it being incurable.
• Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018, seeks to end the discrimination against leprosy persons in various central laws: the Divorce Act, 1869; the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939; the Special Marriage Act, 1954 etc.
• The Bill eliminates leprosy as a ground for dissolution of marriage or divorce.
• The condition under Section 18 (2) (c) of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, that a Hindu wife is entitled to live separately from her husband without forfeiting her claim to maintenance if the latter is suffering from a virulent form of leprosy has been omitted.
• The amendments introduced in the Bill omit the provisions which stigmatise and discriminate against leprosy-affected persons.
• Leprosy is one of the world’s oldest diseases with India accounting for over 60% of the annual new cases of leprosy.
• The Government has announced the three-pronged strategy for early detection of leprosy cases in the community. It was introduced in 2016 under the National Health Mission, especially in the hard-to-reach areas.
• A special Leprosy Case Detection Campaign was carried out in 2016. As a result, more than 32000 cases were confirmed and were put on treatment.
• Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases in recorded history. Also, known as Hansen’s disease (HD), it is a chronic, progressive bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae.
10. Information Technology Act
• The Supreme Court has issued notice in an application filed by People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), on the continued use of Section 66A of the Information Technology Act. In its petition, PUCL had submitted that more than 22 people have been prosecuted under the provision, after it was scrapped by the Apex Court in 2015.
• Section 66A had been dubbed as “draconian” for it allowed the arrest of several innocent persons, igniting a public outcry for its scrapping. This had led to the Supreme Court striking it down as unconstitutional in March, 2015 in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India.
• The SC had noted that Section 66A arbitrarily, excessively and disproportionately invades the right of free speech, under article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution, and upsets the balance between such right and the reasonable restrictions that may be imposed on such right and the definition of offences under the provision was open-ended and undefined.
• The court also said that the provision, introduced in 2009 to the original Act of 2000, used expressions “completely open-ended and undefined” and every expression used was “nebulous” in meaning. “What may be offensive to one may not be offensive to another. What may cause annoyance or inconvenience to one may not cause annoyance or inconvenience to another. Even the expression ‘persistently’ is completely imprecise.
11. Mandal Dam project
• Mandal Dam is being built on the North Koel River.
• The Mandal Dam project will help around one lakh eleven thousand hectares of agricultural land in Jharkhand and Bihar to get irrigation facilities.
• 60% of the project cost would be financed by the central government as a grant from Long-Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY). Remaining 40% will be borne by the States through loan financed by NABARD.
• North Koel River originates on Ranchi plateau in Jharkhand and joins the Sone River, a few miles north-west of Haidarnagar in Jharkhand. The river meanders through the northern part of Betla National Park. The principal tributaries of the North Koel River are Auranga and the Amanat.
12. Legal status for SSC
• A Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) has recommended that the Centre accord statutory status to the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), one of the largest recruitment agencies in the country.
• The SSC was created to ease the burden of the UPSC by taking over the recruitment for posts below the Group ‘A’ level. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and all State Public Service Commissions either have constitutional or legal status. The SSC is the only such organisation that performs similar functions on a much larger scale, but does not enjoy statutory status.
• At present, the SSC has a sanctioned staff strength of 481 officers but is functioning with 75% of its sanctioned strength.
• There has been a phenomenal increase in the workload of the SSC, from 9.94 lakh candidates in 2008-09 to over 2 crore in 2016-17.
• While the workload and responsibilities of the SSC have increased exponentially over the years, it has remained an “attached body” under the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), and has to depend entirely on the government for all its needs, with no autonomy.
• According statutory status to the SSC would contribute to greater functional autonomy, faster decision-making and efficiency in the overall performance and delivery of results by the SSC in the recruitment process.
13. Government declares ‘one-time financial assistance’ for Rare diseases
• Government has announced a ‘one-time financial assistance’ for Rare diseases. The standing finance committee has approved a proposal for adding a sub-component under the umbrella scheme of Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) for provision of one-time financial assistance to those below threshold poverty line for specified rare diseases which require one-time treatment.
• A rare disease, also referred to as an orphan disease, is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population.
• Most rare diseases are genetic, and are present throughout a person’s entire life, even if symptoms do not immediately appear. In Europe a disease or disorder is defined as rare when it affects less than 1 in 2000 citizens.
• Rare diseases are characterised by a wide diversity of symptoms and signs that vary not only from disease to disease but also from patient to patient suffering from the same disease. Relatively common symptoms can hide underlying rare diseases, leading to misdiagnosis.
• The most common rare diseases recorded in India are Haemophilia, Thalassemia, sickle-cell anaemia and primary immuno deficiency in children, auto-immune diseases, Lysosomal storage disorders such as Pompe disease, Hirschsprung disease, Gaucher’s disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Hemangiomas and certain forms of muscular dystrophies.
14. HRD ministry approves 5,000 additional seats for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas
• Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar approved an increase of 5,000 seats at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas across the country.
• The admission to the additional seats will start in the 2019-20 academic session. In a statement, the HRD Ministry said, now the number of seats has increased from 46 thousand 600 to 51 thousand at the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.
• It said, in the last four years there has been an addition of nine thousand seats in the residential schools.
• Mr Javadekar said, this is the biggest-ever expansion of quality education for rural students and a step in the right direction. He said, this expansion will provide more opportunity for talented children from rural areas to get a quality education.
• Navodaya is the only education system in the country where students give entrance examination for admission into Class six.
15. SC seeks Centre`s response on plea alleging arrests under scrapped Sec 66 A of IT Act
• The Supreme Court sought Centre`s response on a plea alleging prosecutions even after the apex court scrapped Section 66 A of the IT Act under which a person could be arrested for posting allegedly offensive content on websites.
• A bench headed by Justice R F Nariman said concerned officials will be arrested and sent to jail if the apex court order of March 24, 2015, scrapping the provision of the IT Act is violated.
• Appearing for the NGO, PUCL, advocate Sanjay Parikh said more than 22 people have been arrested under the provision of the IT Act.
16. NCR launches mobile app to help people navigate through Prayagraj city during Kumbh Mela
• The North Central Railway, NCR has launched a mobile application to help people navigate through Prayagraj city during Kumbh Mela starting from January 15. `Rail Kumbh Seva Mobile App` will also provide information regarding all the `Mela special` trains that will be run during the period.
• Additionally, the app will provide a link to the user to buy both unreserved and reserved train tickets.
• Through this app, the users will not only get to know their current location, but will also be able to reach to all railway stations, the mela zone, major hotels, bus stations and other facilities within Prayagraj.
• Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river. Traditionally, four fairs are widely recognized as the Kumbh Melas: the Prayag Kumbh Mela, Haridwar Kumbh Mela, the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha, and Ujjain Simhastha.
17. Yarn Bank Scheme
• The Ministry of Textiles, Government of India had launched a Yarn Bank Scheme as one of the components of PowerTex India scheme with an aim to avoid fluctuation in yarn price.
• Under the scheme, an interest-free corpus fund up to Rs.2.00 crore would be provided to the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)/Consortium formed by power loom waivers.
• PowerTex India is a comprehensive scheme for power loom sector development.
18. Government will soon make linking Aadhaar mandatory with driving licences
• Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said, the government will soon make it mandatory for linking Aadhaar with driving licences.
• The minister for Law, Electronics and Information Technology said, they are soon going to bring a law which will make it mandatory. Mr Prasad was delivering his presidential address at the ongoing 106th Indian Science Congress in Jalandhar.
• Explaining the need for the linkage, the Minister said that at present, the guilty person who causes an accident flees the scene and gets a duplicate licence which helps him go scot-free.
• However, with the Aadhaar linkage, one can change his/her name but cannot change his/her biometrics, neither iris nor fingerprints.
• Eulogising about the Centre`s `Digital India` programme, the minister claimed that it had bridged the urban-rural divide.
• Through a power presentation, Mr Prasad said, this is digital profile of India -- 123 crore Aadhaar cards, 121 crore mobile phones, 44.6 crore smart phones, 56 crore internet users, there has been 51 per cent growth in e-commerce.
• He also said, digital payment transactions in the country have increased manifold to over 2,070 crore rupees in 2017-18.
19. WCD minister Maneka Gandhi to confer National Awards to 97 Anganwadi Workers
• Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi will confer National Awards to 97 Anganwadi Workers at a function in New Delhi for exceptional Achievements for the year 2017-18.
• The government had formulated the scheme in 2000-2001 to award Anganwadi Workers at the National and State Levels.
• The award is given annually to motivate the workers and recognise their exemplary services in the field of child development and related areas under the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme.
• The award at the National Level comprises a cash prize of 50 thousand rupees and citation while 10 thousand rupees are given for the State level award.
• From this year, the government has doubled the cash prize of National Level award from earlier 25 thousand rupees
20. Suspension of MPs
• Cracking the whip on unruly MPs, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has suspended 45 Lok Sabha members belonging to the TDP and the AIADMK after they created ruckus in the House and continuously disrupted proceedings for days.
• The action was taken under rule 374A of the Lok Sabha which says they cannot attend the remaining days of the session.
• Among the tools available to the Speaker for ensuring discipline is the power to force a member to withdraw from the House (for the remaining part of the day), or to place him under suspension.
• Rule Number 373 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business states that in case the Speaker is of the opinion that the conduct of any member is “grossly disorderly”, he or she may direct that member to “withdraw immediately from the House”. The member is required to “do so forthwith”, and stay away from the “remainder of the day’s sitting”.
• The Speaker may invoke Rule 374A in case of “grave disorder occasioned by a member coming into the well of the House or abusing the Rules of the House, persistently and wilfully obstructing its business by shouting slogans or otherwise…”. The member concerned, “on being named by the Speaker, stands automatically suspended from the service of the House for five consecutive sittings or the remainder of the session, whichever is less”.
• While the Speaker is empowered to place a member under suspension, the authority for revocation of this order is not vested in her. It is for the House, if it so desires, to resolve on a motion to revoke the suspension.
• Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is empowered — under Rule Number 255 of its Rule Book— to “direct any member whose conduct is in his opinion grossly disorderly to withdraw immediately” from the House. “…Any member so ordered to withdraw shall do so forthwith and shall absent himself during the remainder of the day’s meeting.”
• The Chairman may “name a member who disregards the authority of the Chair or abuses the rules of the Council by persistently and wilfully obstructing” business. In such a situation, the House may adopt a motion suspending the member from the service of the House for a period not exceeding the remainder of the session. The House may, however, by another motion, terminate the suspension. Unlike the Speaker, the Rajya Sabha Chairman does not have the power to suspend a member.
21. Monuments of national importance
• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) recently declared that it has added six structures to the list of monuments of national importance, taking the total number to 3,693.
• With 506 monuments under its belt, Karnataka continues to top the list in South India, followed by Tamil Nadu (413).
• Nationally too, Karnataka is in the second place after Uttar Pradesh, which has 745 such monuments.
• The six monuments declared as Monuments of national importance in 2018 are:
• Old High Court Building in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• Haveli of Agha Khan in Agra.
• Haveli of Hathi Khana in Agra.
• Neemrana Baori in Rajasthan’s Alwar district.
• Group of Temples at Ranipur Jharail in Odisha’s Bolangir district.
• Vishnu Temple in Kotali, Pithoragarh district, Uttarkhand.